


Gay Lab Practicum

by Pookaseraph



Series: CMUniverse [20]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Carnegie Mellon, Dungeons and Dragons, First Time, Fluff, M/M, Paralysis, Pittsburgh, Romance, Wheelchairs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-27
Updated: 2012-02-27
Packaged: 2017-10-31 19:19:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/347512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pookaseraph/pseuds/Pookaseraph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charles has spent the last few days coming to terms with the fact that Erik is probably going to break up with him. That leaves him a bit surprised when Erik shows up trying to make amends for his crappy behavior. Erik does his best to show Charles that he's ready to make a change and make a life together with Charles.</p><p>Last fic in the main CMUniverse, currently.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gay Lab Practicum

One of the many, many problems with being paralyzed at the waist was that all the really good sulky positions seemed to require knee strength. It also meant he thought he must have looked a bit silly with his knees tangled up against his chest and his laptop off to the side sitting on the floor. Winter made him a bit miserable; it was almost impossible for him to stay properly warm and temperature regulated. He'd also not seen Erik in almost a week, and he got the distinct impression that Erik was avoiding him. It made him worried, worried that Erik had decided it just wasn't worth it anymore, that Charles was demanding too much of him and this was going to be the end of one of his shortest, and yet somehow most fulfilling, relationships ever.

It hurt. It hurt thinking of that ending. He wanted to run away from it and hide.

At least Tony had promised him dinner and they could at least start the weekend off with Charles not consumed by sulking. He wasn't off to a very good start. A light knock on the door interrupted his moping.

"Yeah."

Instead of Tony and his unruly mop of brown hair, Erik poked his head in the door, scanning at about eye level before he noticed Charles on the floor. "Hey... can I come in?"

"Always." Perhaps he shouldn't leave his heart so firmly on his sleeve, but it really was his nature.

The response made Erik grin, though, which did very pleasant things and made him feel particularly tingly. Erik came in, closed the door behind him, and then settled down on the floor right next to Charles without a second though. A moment later, he kissed Charles' cheek, and when Charles tilted his head towards him Erik drew him in for a long kiss, long enough that it ended with Charles dragged on top of him, Erik's back to the floor.

"I love you."

Erik's declaration couldn't have been better timed, and Charles sagged with relief at the obviously sincere thought.

"Me too."

"I know I've been an ass lately."

"Not at all," he answered, probably too quickly, and Erik laughed, pressing a kiss to his neck.

"Yes, I have." He sat up, his face serious. 

Charles reached out both to squeeze Erik's hand and to lever himself up.

"Do you have plans?" Erik asked. "For dinner, for the evening?"

"Tony," Charles answered, but Tony's presence was mostly required because Charles was moping, if Erik was on offer, perhaps he could release Tony from his big brotherly duties. "I'm sure he'd rather spend the evening in Squirrel Hill, however."

"Well, if Tony releases you, I would like to take you to dinner."

"I'll ask him." Charles didn't move, though, just leaning against Erik's side.

Neither of them moved or seemed to even consider moving; Charles stole kisses from Erik again, and again.

"Sorry," he said, finally, when they broke apart. "I've been having a bit of a rubbish week."

Erik looked sad for just a moment. "Anything I can do?"

"You're off to a good start."

It took a bit more maneuvering, but Charles ended up on Erik's lap, the two of them curled around each other, one of Erik's arms around his waist and the other resting casually on Charles' knee.

"I met Hank's gaming group yesterday."

He watched Erik's hand flex awkwardly against his own knee, unable to feel it, but it was obvious something was going on beneath Erik's calm. "Are they nice?"

"Yeah." He pressed his head to Erik's shoulder. "There's actually a gay couple, Alex and Darwin, and everyone seemed fairly welcoming. I... um..." He bit his lip. "I didn't tell them I was bi." Erik hadn't exactly forced him back into the closet, but he knew Erik was occasionally sensitive to how people saw him on campus; if everyone knew Charles was bi, then Erik seemed to worry that there would be _questions_ and...

"Oh." Erik trailed a finger down Charles' calf inseam. "If that's what you wanted."

He'd _wanted_ to tell them the truth. He bit his lip, wishing this wasn't so complicated sometimes. "I wanted to tell them. I just thought..."

"Then you should tell them, whenever you want."

The policy change caught him off-guard. As much as he'd _hoped_ Erik would get around to that level of comfort he'd all but given up on it. "Are you sure?"

Erik twitched. "As long as it's right for you."

Charles sighed. "It's not just about me."

"It is though." Erik sighed. "I'm... making a mess of this, again."

Erik was pretty crappy at expressing himself, sometimes. It was a bit endearing, but also more than a bit frustrating. "Alright, love, I'll... hush up, you tell me what you need to say."

That seemed to give Erik some small bit of comfort. "I told Anya that I'm gay, and that I was in a relationship with you."

Charles gawked. "How did she take it?"

"So much for hushing up!" Erik said, but he squeezed Charles around the waist, hugging. "It went well, actually. I didn't think it would go poorly, but... it went really well. I thought I would feel good, and I did, but I also know there's a lot more to go."

"You can take it a bit at a time, Erik."

"I'm going to. Not mom, not yet, but... your new friends, if you want, I want them to know that I'm yours."

Charles melted just a little, and then sighed. He did want them to know, now out of some simmering need to possess Erik, but out of a need to be himself, to let the entire world know that he loved Erik. "You're sure?"

Erik nodded. "Yes. I need to face this, everything."

The melty feeling turned slightly icy. "Face it?"

He watched Erik's face panic again. He rifled his fingers through his hair, obviously trying to get ahold of his train of thought again. Charles let him, he wanted to hear this, no matter what it was.

"I'm scared of everything this means. I mean..." Erik pursed his lips, annoyed. "Our kids."

Charles thought his eyes might fall out of his head at that, and Erik reeled himself in again, almost physically.

"The world isn't easy for gay people." It sounded like that was what Erik had finally settled on, his chin cocked slightly, looking Charles in the eyes, almost wary, waiting for his reaction.

He did give it some thought, that was the only thing he could do, really, but it didn't take him long. "You're right, Erik, the world pretty much sucks for us sometimes. That can't be news for you, though."

"It's not. I've just spent a lot of years hoping maybe I could be... you know, a little bit bisexual, that I could meet some girl who I just connected with and the sex was good and maybe if I was really lucky she'd be Jewish, but not _too_ Jewish, and it would be just really perfect and easy." Erik winced slightly. "I keep thinking that would have been really nice."

Charles wasn't certain what to say. It wasn't as though he didn't have that thought sometimes, that he could probably find a girl who was a bit less high maintenance than Erik was shaping up to be, but Erik was this perfect fit. The silence stretched. "I understand."

"But I don't think I'm bisexual, there's not going to be some girl, if anything I'm worried there'll be some girl for you someday who's easier than me."

The inappropriate laughter bubbled up in Charles' chest and he _clung_ to Erik, just holding him, and after a moment of tension, Erik's back relaxed under his and he melted into the hug. "Almost anyone would be easier than you, Erik, but I find myself rather smitten anyway."

After a few moments, their declarations were sealed with a kiss, both of them squeezing a bit too tightly. When they pulled apart, Charles kissed Erik lightly on the nose.

"I'll..." Charles turned to see Tony in the doorway. "Go... see a red-head about a robot."

He and Erik exchanged a quick glance, a great deal of hope in Erik's eyes. "Yeah, Tony, go ahead." Tony left very quietly, and then Charles smiled. "I hear you owe me dinner?"

Erik nodded. "Union Grill maybe? Site of so many dates in the past."

"Sounds heavenly." He glanced around. He was a few feet from his chair - crappy for mobility, good for a true sulk. "Could you bring around the electric?"

Erik helped him move off his lap and get sitting properly, and then turned on the electric and rolled it carefully over to where Charles was sitting. Charles hauled himself up with an assist from Erik and then the two of them headed out of the room and onto the street.

"My sister asked me if you gave me wheelchair rides."

Charles snorted. "What did you say to that?"

"At first, thought she meant..." Erik trailed off, and when Charles looked up he saw that the man was pink. "Sex, but no, she just meant wheelchair rides."

Indecision raged in Charles' mind for a few moments. "Would you like a wheelchair ride, Erik?" He aimed for flirty mixed with legitimately inviting, but Erik obviously stumbled, all but tripping over his feet, as they wheeled to a stop near the bus stands on Forbes.

"Yes?" His voice was nervous, and for a moment Charles wasn't quite certain what was going through Erik's mind. He was taking this far more seriously than a coy innuendo merited. "Yes."

After a quick check to make certain all his bits were where Charles thought they were, he rearranged his legs slightly and patted his lap. Erik obviously had a quick war with himself before he very carefully sat, distributing himself so he wasn't resting too heavily on either leg.

"For all you are very tall, you're still on the light side." He gave Erik's waist a quick squeeze. "Are you settled in, love?"

"Yes." Erik pressed his nose to Charles' temple, and Charles finally got his hand back to the controls and they carefully continued their trek down Forbes. "This isn't bad, actually."

"It loses some of its charm if you do it all the time."

"... Oh, um..."

"Erik," Charles sighed, exasperated. "I'm not entirely made of glass. It's a statement of fact."

"I know, I'm just... I hadn't been pushing myself." Erik silently looked down into the Hollow as they rolled over the bridge. "I let myself think we could be in this little bubble that was only you and me - with occasional cock blocking by Tony - but we really can't. I needed to work up to it."

"Life changes go a bit better if you have some time to consider them, adjust, that sort of thing, but sometimes... sometimes there are benefits to waking up to a fait accompli and all that remains is to accept." He'd worked up to his own revelation about his sexuality, but waking up, back destroyed, body only really half under his control anymore had been beyond shocking. He'd been shattered, emotionally, and only the fact he needed to stay strong for Tony kept him from completely breaking in the months afterwards. He didn't want this to be a trauma for Erik.

"I don't think I've ever thought about one thing so much in my entire life." Charles felt Erik's hand on the back of his neck, teasing with the too long hair there. "I want to get this right."

"Myself as well."

Erik prodded Charles' side. "This is mildly disorienting and romantic."

"I'll take it."

They arrived at Union Grill a few minutes later and Erik climbed off to check on getting them a table. Charles waited outside, parked against the side of the restaurant, trying to enjoy the cool evening air, but mostly just huddling in his jacket and missing the warmth of Erik on his lap and against his front. When Erik didn't return in just a few seconds, Charles decided there must have been some sort of accommodation ruckus.

"Charles!" He looked up and saw Raven waving at him from the corner with a riotous blue jacket, trailing Hank, Alex, and Darwin. "Hey, do you want to come to dinner with us?"

Erik came out at the end of the request. "Do you want to?"

The gaming group started to walk up Craig and Charles tilted his head towards Erik. "Not unless you do, love; I thought we were going on a date."

"Well... they're your new friends, right?" Erik leaned in. "It can still be a date. It's going to take twenty minutes to get a table, anyway."

"If you want to."

He watched Erik's face, contorting slightly as though he could read Charles' mind, attempting to read between the lines and decide what he wanted. "Sure."

"Charles, you've got to come, I don't want this to seem all double date-y," Raven said as they got closer. The look on Hank's face - and the looks that passed between Darwin and Alex - said that was exactly what Hank had hoped for. "Who's your beefcake?"

Everyone except Hank snorted. "You'll have to excuse her, Erik, she's just a bit forward."

Erik paused. "Erik Lehnsherr." A slightly longer pause as everyone waved and Darwin shook Erik's hand. He caught the look that Erik shot him out of the corner of his eye, and Charles nodded. "Charles' boyfriend."

A few moments of awkward silence passed before Alex broke the ice. "How long have you two been dating?"

"Two and a half months," Erik answered, almost easily. "And we'd love to come. They don't have any seats that Charles can camp at for a while anyway. The company would be good."

The six of them cut down Forbes and into Oakland. Erik's hand stayed resting tentatively against Charles' back as they moved down the street. Alex walked backwards, his back pressed close to Darwin's, while Raven circled around the chair and turned back and forth as they walked.

Everyone seemed far more interested in Erik, largely because he'd gotten a similar third degree when he showed up at gaming, so he didn't feel too bad. Erik started off quite obviously awkward before he started to warm up a bit, and Charles couldn't help but grin. It was really nice to see.

It would have been nice to spend a quiet evening together, safe from any raucousness and alone, curled up at _their_ restaurant, but there was something fantastic about going to get some sandwiches and chips with friends. He slowly found himself acquainted with people who were only too excited to loudly recount their latest Dungeons and Dragons adventures - DMed on the fly by Charles - to Erik and expound, at length, as to why they were badass.

Erik sat through it with all the grace of someone who had his own characters and exploits and foibles, his own stories, mostly from High School, of murdering trolls and kobolds.

"But Erik, the kobolds have a culture!"

"Only you, Charles. Their race is explicitly aligned as evil in the PHB."

"Misunderstood, enslaved by more powerful races, try to be a bit more understanding."

The table soon devolved into a fit of giggles that descended into a debate concerning the validity of removing the chaotic-good and lawful-evil alignments from the system and then the realigning of old gods and invention of new, and by the time they were done it was easily two and a half hours later and only Erik had had something alcoholic, so Charles made sure they left a nice tip and the six of them headed out.

"Want to come to the UC, play darts or something?" Alex asked, as they got closer to campus.

"I'm afraid I owe Charles a night in," Erik answered immediately.

The entire group seemed to interpret that exactly the same way: the dorm room was going to be rocking; Charles thought they were sweet but unfortunately entirely over optimistic of Charles' chances for the night. Still, they made it back to Charles' room and the two of them looked around, momentarily awkward.

"Charles, I..." Erik took a deep breath, leaned forward, and kissed his cheek. "I would like to have sex tonight."

"I would certainly like to try," Charles answered. "I know it's a bit awkward, isn't it? Asking some time in advance. You have to know, I never mind you asking. Come here."

Erik settled in on either side of Charles' thighs, knees snug against Charles' legs, and kissed him. They were slow this time, sensual rather than hurried, and Erik kissed like they had all the time in the world. He was slow, starting with a gentle teasing of Charles' lip between his teeth, fingers lightly touching along his jaw and throat, hot breath mixing between them.

Charles was so, so ready for this to work, it would be a wonderful way to spend the end of a crappy week, but he remained certain that something was going to ruin this, even as Erik bent in to nip at his neck. He wrapped his arms around Erik's waist, fingers digging in to his back, tense, coiled. Erik's teeth teased Charles' ear and he tilted his neck, tense and unable to relax.

It didn't take long; Erik pulled away with a frown.

"Hey, um... if you're not up for it, it's fine."

The most wonderful and terrible part was Erik sounded as though it would be fine. Charles rested his forehead against Erik's shoulders. "I'm just... I spent the last few days thinking you were going to break up with me."

A strangled noise came out of Erik's throat, wrenched. "I just needed some time to think and to decide and..." Erik's fingers pressed to Charles' neck, clinging. "I _need_ you."

For how long?

Erik seemed oblivious to Charles' inner struggle. "We can cuddle?" Erik offered. "I just... I came here to stop running. I came here to be yours."

Charles was either weak or exceptionally forgiving and naive, or both. "Let me..." He hooked his finger towards the restroom and Erik's eyes grew wide and momentarily hopeful.

"Of course." Erik kissed his cheek and got off the wheelchair.

The trip to the bathroom was somehow interminable; his hands shook as he decathed himself and tried to decide what the hell he was doing. It was easy to imagine this might be a big hurdle, one that if Erik cleared they would be smooth sailing for the rest of the relationship. He wondered if he'd ever been quite that naive. Maybe when he was a little boy.

He left his jeans folded across his lap.

Erik stole the jeans almost as soon as Charles was back into the bedroom, folded them neatly, slid them back into Charles' dresser, locked the door, and then climbed back up onto Charles' wheelchair like he owned it. They grabbed each other into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, Erik, you've been lovely today, I'm just a bit out of sorts."

His boyfriend nodded and kissed his cheek. "That seems to be going around."

Charles' fingers played with the hem of Erik's shirt, and then slid up and under. He felt the firm muscles of Erik's waist, eyes fixed on Erik's chest, somehow trying to put away all of the feelings he hadn't really expected to be feeling with Erik there, in his arms. It was supposed to be easier with Erik back in his arms.

"I thought..." Erik started, stopped, bit his lip, and then started again. "We're trying to communicate, right?" He pressed his hands to Charles' shoulders, fingers touching lightly. "We can't let our siblings be the better communicators."

He snorted. Tony did seem to be getting rather decent at this communicating thing. Charles was used to having a monopoly. "I love you. I'm afraid of losing you."

"No," Erik said, voice firm. "You won't."

Their eyes met, and Charles saw nothing but overwhelming determination in Erik's eyes. Erik there, sitting, insisting that Charles wouldn't lose him, was exactly what Charles needed. He pulled Erik in one more time, and the two of them kissed, far softer than Charles really expected.

It was always electric, always perfect and warm and overwhelming. Erik slid his hands under Charles's shirt, fingers creeping up high enough for Charles to appreciate the full sensation, tickling at the base of his ribs, a few moments later he found himself stripped of his shirt, Erik's mouth on his collarbone, and his fingers ghosting over his nipples. Charles gasped and his head lolling back slightly from the feeling. Erik had the unfair advantage of having learned his body very well in the past weeks.

He retaliated by tugging off Erik's shirt and sliding his thumbs against Erik's belly while his fingers crept upwards. Erik gently scraped his teeth against Charles' nipple, tongue brushing against the already hardening peak. The attention turned him into a panting mess of nerves and feelings, eventually he ended up just selfishly grabbing at Erik's head, fingernails brushing against his scalp, as Erik worked. Erik laved his tongue more, nose pressed against his chest, and when he moved to switch nipples, Charles pressed his fingers back to work. His palms flattened to Erik's ass and squeezed a moan out of the taller man.

He pressed downward, his hands against Erik's thighs, tips of his fingers scraping against the inseam of his jeans.

"Oh God." Erik's voice lighted something warm in his belly. "I've got to... you know... pants."

"You had best 'pants' then, Erik."

Erik stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry at Charles, but he climbed off. Charles took the moment as a chance to shift his position slightly, getting comfortable again. Erik's fingers stayed resting over his fly, and Charles waited, expectantly. He could see where Erik's dick was already hard enough to obviously tent the fabric.

"Do you want to?" Erik asked. Charles arched an eyebrow - he thought it rather plain that he really, really wanted to. Erik put out a hand, and Charles took it, a moment later, Erik took his hand and pulled it so rested squarely on the waist of his jeans, barely an inch from where Erik's cock tented them.

Charles locked his eyes with Erik, Erik's eyes watching Charles' hand. Cautious, nervous at how much free reign Erik was giving him, Charles reached out his thumb so it hovered barely a breath from Erik's cock. Erik didn't protest, just licked his lips. Charles waited.

His eyes darted up and met Charles'. "Please?"

The request was one Charles had no intention ignoring, and he pressed his thumb from pad to tip against Erik's length and then rubbed softly.

Erik _whined_ , needy and desperate and loud. When Charles released the pressure he whimpered, eyes wide and begging and he only stopped when Charles fumbled open the fly of his pants and ever so carefully started to tug the zip down, loosening the jeans tooth by tooth. He stood there panting as Charles carefully wiggled the pants down; the tempting feel of hip bones made him pause, fingers brushing over them before trailing down the V of his pelvis and he finally eased the jeans down and off where they collapsed, pooling near Erik's knees.

Even still boxer-clad, Erik's erection was impressive, but he waited for Erik to indicate he wanted more. Already this was beyond what Charles had expected, Erik really had made quite an effort. His boyfriend shucked his boxers himself, neatly toeing off his shoes and then taking down his pants and boxers, leaving them on the floor. And there he stood, tall and very, very erect.

"Can I... help you take those off?"

No encouragement necessary, Charles lifted himself from his seat, legs dangling, and Erik reached out and slowly eased his boxers down, wiggling them passed Charles' thighs and knees and then helping him step out of them. Both of them now naked, Erik took a deep breath.

"Supplies." Erik said it more for himself, Charles thought, than for Charles. And he made his way over to the bedside end table and pulled out Charles' vibrator. Charles watched his shoulders rise and fall, likely from a deep, steeling breath.

"You don't need to force yourself, Erik."

"I'm more than happy where this is going, Charles." Erik came back to Charles, climbed back on, and set the vibrator against Charles' thigh. "I'm just... nervous."

"We'll go slow, nothing you aren't ready for."

"I'm ready for your hands on me," Erik said. Charles had no trouble believing it, so he went back to one of his favorite pastimes: touching Erik's chest and stomach. "I meant... my cock."

Charles nipped Erik's collarbone lightly. "Well I'm going to take my time, love. You can touch whatever you'd like."

Erik cheated, going directly for Charles' nipples.

Resolve to be slow and sensual faded and Charles' hands grabbed at Erik's hips, pinning them, stroking them. "Your hipbones are my new favorite," Charles informed him between harsh breaths.

"Mmm, nope, still love your nipples." His fingers were on one of Charles' nipples while the other hand was... somewhere, Charles couldn't feel it. His mouth stayed latched to Charles' other nipple, the attention making him warm and leaving him panting.

He finally reached down, his thumb brushing against the head of Erik's penis and he jerked his hips, wild. Charles pulled Erik up into a crushing kiss, the two of them dueling, tongues and teeth and lips as Charles slowly pumped Erik's erection. After a few jerks, he switched his grip to something a bit more comfortable and Erik was suddenly putty in his hands, boneless and slumped, his forehead pressed into Charles' neck.

"Please, yes..." Erik started to kiss his neck, hands playing against his stomach and lower, sensation bright, dull, or completely gone depending on where Erik's hands touched. "Love you."

Charles brought his mouth to Erik's ear, kissing softly, his hands touching. "I love you, Erik... so much."

He smiled, leaning in and nipping his earlobe gently.

"You have a lovely cock as well."

The declaration drew another whimper from Erik. "Tease."

"I'll have you know I'm working quite hard at not being so," Charles informed him, pulling Erik back in for another kiss while he stroked Erik, hand moving faster, Erik's whole body starting to tense.

They stayed like that, mouths hovering over each other, breath mixing together, Erik's lips wavering between touching and ghosting over Charles'. He felt Erik's orgasm in the twitching of his cock and the warm spatter on his chest. "Charles."

Their lips stayed tangled together.

"Charles. Charles..." Erik peppered the moments between his name with soft kisses and loud gasping. "Mine."

"All yours, my love."

They both recovered slowly, and when Erik leaned back on his legs Charles giggled slightly, wiping Erik's semen on Erik's belly. Erik snorted.

"Sorry." Charles wasn't that sorry, of course, but he did have to shift in his chair again, and he would have rather done it without leaving a sticky palm print on his chair. "Are you alright, love?"

"Yeah." But Erik seemed to think about it more, fingers touching Charles' shoulders. "Yes. I am. I'm good, better than good. You gave me an orgasm."

"Just wait until I start using my mouth."

Erik's eyes got slightly glazed, but he was nodding, nodding like he was passing judgment on Charles' statement and finding it wholly satisfactory. "It's your turn. I want to give you an orgasm."

"You know it's not that..."

"Hush." Erik leaned in and kissed Charles' nose. "I don't need a warning every time we're together. Sometimes you won't, sometimes you will, tonight I want to try. Now... lie back and think of England or something."

"Why would I do that when I have you here?"

"Ok..." Erik looked down at Charles as though he was trying to sort out a puzzle. He pecked Charles chest and then hunched so he could press his lips to Charles' pectorals, his tongue sliding down and not quite touching the nub there, Erik had his hand playing with Charles' nipple and the other was... 

Charles glanced down, watched as Erik fumbled with Charles' dick, trying to stroke it enough to even as it stayed almost entirely flaccid.

"Worry about that in a few minutes," Charles said. "It works much better if I'm quite tingly first."

Erik's hand went somewhere, possibly still trying to touching him and make him hard, but he redoubled his efforts on Charles' nipples and Charles' hands trailed down Erik's back, scratching lightly to show his very intense appreciation. The attention continued, licking and biting that left pinpricks of pleasure against his neck, along his chest, until he was finally melting into a very contented pool, the man he loved doing his damnedest to drive him wild.

"Now?"

"Now what?" Charles asked, stupid and buzzed. "Oh! Yes. Turn it on and..." He heard the loud buzz of the vibrator, one of Erik's hands running down Charles' chest, the other one fumbling where Charles couldn't feel. Charles glanced down, saw the way Erik barely pressed the underside of his tip. "It's prescription strength for a reason, love, press it tight."

Erik's hands both went to his dick, holding it carefully as he pressed the vibrator there. A quick check by both of them, and a nod by Charles, and Erik went back to kissing, claiming Charles' mouth with his tongue. A pervasive sort of tension settled over his body, good and warm. He grabbed Erik around the neck and shoulders and dragged them closer, kissing and biting, Charles moaning and Erik making pleased little whimpering sounds.

He felt his orgasm not as a spasm or a twitch, or in the way his cock moved, but in the relaxed bliss that came just on its tail, his body shivering with pure pleasure. Erik switched off the vibrator and the two of them continued to kiss, slow and unhurried.

It was some time later when a twinge in his back made him press Erik away, light and unwilling to truly break the connection.

"Was it ok?" Erik asked, obviously concerned about the performance.

"I feel lovely. That's my only metric."

They shared a grin.

"Alright... I..." Erik fumbled with the vibrator and climbed off the chair again, awkwardness settling in. Charles saw it in the furtive dart of eyes up to him, the awkward curl of his lip and the way he wrung the vibrator like a cloth.

"Please don't, Erik." Charles didn't like to see that. "Relax. You're handsome and I'm quite taken with you and the sex was grand."

A slow exhalation seemed to take some of the nerves with it. "Good."

Erik set the vibrator down on the end table and then ducked into the bathroom, returning with a damp washcloth and cleaned off semen. He carefully wiped Charles' belly and cock and between his thighs. Erik lifted his legs gently, opening them, and then brought another washcloth that dried him.

"No tears?" Charles asked, smiling.

He shook his head. "Are you alright?"

"More than. I feel wonderful."

Erik dried his own hands and then pulled one of Charles' free chairs over so they were sitting, almost knee-to-knee. After a quick check to make certain it was alright, Erik picked up one of his legs, uncapped some lotion, and gently started to massage Charles' calf and ankle. "We should do that again, sometime."

"Hopefully more than just sometime!" Charles answered, mostly good humored.

"You know what I meant." Erik massaged and stretched Charles' foot, helping work out some of the tightness that couldn't help but settle in to his feet, spreading his thumbs out to stretch the toe bones out. "Did you mean what you said about... blowjobs?"

"Of course." Charles gave Erik's wrist a squeeze. "We'll get you into some yoga."

They both laughed.

Erik grew quiet, massaging Charles' foot, then his ankle, then his foot again before he finally trailed up higher. "Anya wants us to go on double dates."

"We've already been on two." Charles smiled. "I'd like to go on dates with Tony and your sister."

"It's terrifying that I understood that," Erik answered.

"The reason I love you is because you understood that."

"I'm still waiting for the night my sister's boyfriend drags you out of bed, or crawls into bed with you, while I'm in it."

Charles awkwardly bit his lip, trying to think of the best way to answer that. "I'm pretty sure the girl I dated two years ago in college broke up with me for that." He shrugged, going for nonchalance. "You'd think she'd be flattered." He winked.

Erik just shook his head. "I suppose it's either that or him crawling into bed with my sister, so I'll have to accept it."

"You..." He could say it. "You really don't have to, you know. Tony and I..." Just thinking about it made him tense up, made him nervous. He and Tony had gone back and forth stressing over what would happen if one of them actually found the person who could put up with all their crap and the other one didn't. It turned out both of them finding that person might have been even more terrifying. Leaving his brother behind, having a new person he would curl up with at night when he was sad, or terrified, or he just felt wretched and horrible and broken, was going to be an adjustment that Charles wasn't certain he was completely ready for.

"Hey. My brother and sisters aren't going away, your brother isn't either."

"Oh... good; I think he rather has this plan where we're going to summer in the Hamptons or something."

"I thought it was Martha's Vineyard..." Erik answered, moving on to Charles' thigh.

"Whichever." That was likely flip, but... well they did have the more accessible house on the Vineyard. "We... we both never really had much by way of family. At the start it was alright, but..." Tony glorified Howard, and Charles, even though he knew Brian didn't necessarily deserve it, he glorified his dad. "We've picked you, you, who I love, and the rest of your family, who I love because you do."

"Lehnsherr-Xavier-Starks?"

"I think we need do smoosh our names together or something," Charles decided, but the idea made him very fuzzy.

"Lehnxiark."

They both giggled. "That sounds like landshark. Remember it has to sound good in front of 'Industries' and 'Pharmaceuticals'."

"Can't have landsharks in airplanes, that could be dangerous."

They stayed like that for longer than Charles really expected. He didn't even notice until some time later that they were still naked, hands still on each other, curled up, complaining about families, talking about the future, and just... loving each other in a way that Charles had always known he could have, and now here it was.

So they say, both of them, stretched out and fumbling towards the future.

**Author's Note:**

> Thus ends the main series of CMUniverse. There are currently two ficlets, one AU, that follow this. I have up to 2 ideas that might make print afterwards. Hopefully this is satisfactory to my loyal readers!
> 
> The Valentine's Day fic just after this one makes a nice coda.


End file.
